India, UK to start sixth round of trade talks | Daily News Byte

International Trade Minister Cammy Badenoch, who is leading negotiators for the UK, arrived in New Delhi today for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks, the UK High Commission said. Badenoch will meet his counterpart Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal face-to-face for the first time.

“The talks — the first formal round since July — will target a deal to reduce tariffs and open up opportunities for UK services such as financial and legal, making it easier for British businesses to sell to the world’s third-largest economy — with a middle class of 250 million people — by 2050. ” added the High Commission.

India and Britain began negotiations for an FTA in January with the aim of concluding negotiations by Diwali. It has 26 chapters—on goods, services, investment and intellectual property rights—of which 16 have been closed.

The reduction or elimination of customs duties is expected to help Indian labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather and gems and jewelery to boost exports to the UK. In return, the UK is seeking duty concessions on Scotch whiskey and automobiles.

The Indian industry is seeking greater access to the UK market for its goods, including bulk Indian-made whisky.

Trade between the two increased from $13.2bn in 2020-21 to $17.5bn in 2021-22. In 2021-22, Indian exports were $10.5bn, while imports were $7bn.